The black crystal remained hidden beneath the folds of his bag. No one noticed it. No one at all.
Cassien carefully lowered his gaze and slowly began drawing mana toward his fingertips. A faint black line appeared across the surface of the crystal.
’Just a little...’
The Demon Core pulsed. Once, twice, and soon, a dark whisper echoed inside his mind.
"Forsaken..." The words stretched through his mind like sothing from a nightmare. "Abyss..."
And then—
Boom!
A terrifying pressure exploded across the clearing. The ground cracked slightly. Several students stumbled.
"What the hell?!"
Everyone imdiately turned.
Cid Forge stood frozen.
The four elents around his sword suddenly beca unstable. Each one was being sustained solely by his Aether Core.
All four began colliding with one another. Veins bulged across his neck while Cid’s eyes widened.
Thud.
His sword suddenly vanished.
Cid collapsed face-first into the dirt, as though the strain had finally exceeded anything he could control.
"..."
The entire area fell silent.
Izel blinked.
"Cid?"
No response.
Then she imdiately rushed forward.
"CID!"
Several students from Class-1A followed. One of them checked his pulse.
"He’s alive!"
Another student looked relieved.
"What happened?!"
Elandor glanced toward the unconscious boy.
"Aether."
His voice remained calm.
"Most people view it as a blessing. But it is not. Space bends. Gravity and reality obey. Yet the body remains human, no matter how much one alters their physical attributes. Even if they possess an innate talent from birth, there is only so much they can endure. The burden of an Aether Core is several hundred tis greater than that of a standard Mana Core."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"That boy has spent days forcing it to remain active."
Izel’s expression changed.
"Days?"
She had heard him correctly.
"He didn’t rest, clearly. Cid accumulated more strain than his body could contain."
Several students from Class-1A looked horrified.
"Attempting to maintain four elents through an Aether Core at his age is practically a death wish. How did he not die?"
Even Elandor sounded slightly confused.
"The stronger the gift, the greater the cost."
While the incident shook the entire environnt around them, Cassien quietly slid the Demon Core back into his bag.
No one noticed.
Everyone’s attention remained fixed on Cid.
’That was close,’ he sighed. ’A few more seconds and I would’ve started the synchronization process. I don’t mind using it in battle for self-defense, but if they learn about it before I fully utilize it, that would just be boring, really.’
Thankfully, fate had decided to provide a distraction.
Soon after, several instructors arrived to collect Cid. The remaining mbers of Class-1A reluctantly retreated.
Their montum had completely vanished.
Even Izel looked frustrated.
The princess glanced toward Cassien one final ti, then left.
[Ding.]
[Territory #3 Available.]
[Current Distance: 4.2 Kiloters.]
"Class-1B will most likely take that area now," Olivia stated. "Stay on our newly claid territory before deciding what to do next. We can return to camp if needed. But right now, given the ti, it’s still fairly early."
After obtaining the [Heart of Judgnt], morale had reached an all-ti high.
"Why don’t we attack them now that their defenses are down?" Cassien whispered so only Olivia could hear. "They tried stealing what we fairly obtained first. It’s only fair that we return the favor."
Olivia shook her head.
"Of course not. Why even ask that? You already know my answer. Cid isn’t even the strongest person in their group."
Cassien smiled.
"I can take on the princess alone."
"That’s your arrogance speaking, not the real you. She could potentially take all of us on if she were enraged, so I don’t like taking risks like that."
’I only prepared the Demon Core because I thought I was about to fight both of them... that’s when it becos necessary. But one-on-one? I would win.’
Cassien kept that thought to himself and simply nodded.
"That’s alright then."
One by one, Class-1C began leaving the clearing.
Then Cassien heard a voice that stopped him in his tracks.
He was now alone.
A single voice prevented him from following the rest of his class.
"Young man."
No one else seed to notice.
Only Elandor remained standing in the center of the clearing, watching.
Cassien slowly turned.
"..."
The elf’s smile had vanished.
And for the first ti since eting him, Elandor looked terrifyingly serious.
"Your classmates may continue," he said quietly. "You, however, will stay."
Cassien felt a slight chill crawl down his spine as the ancient elf stepped forward.
The pressure beca suffocating.
No one else noticed because it was directed solely at him.
Elandor stopped only a few feet away.
His erald eyes stared directly at Cassien’s bag.
Cassien imdiately understood.
The old monster had sohow noticed it from afar, even amidst the chaos.
’Is my [Distorted Mask] not functioning properly?’
"Tell ."
Elandor’s voice turned cold.
"Why are you carrying a Demon Core?"
The world suddenly felt very quiet as Cassien’s smile began to fade.
The birds were silent.
The wind had stopped.
For several long seconds, neither of them spoke.
Elandor continued.
"I have lived for over three thousand years, and I can tell that the crystal in your possession was physically removed from a demon. It was also refined and modified. You sohow made it more stable."
His eyes narrowed.
"Sothing that should be impossible."
Cassien remained silent.
He was trying to think of the best thing to say.
Sothing that would get him out of trouble.
’Act dumb?’
The elf sighed.
"Relax, son."
Cassien blinked.
"Son?"
"I said relax. If I intended to expose you, your instructors would already be here. None of your classmates saw it. None of the students saw it. Which ans I was the only one."
Cassien finally spoke.
"Then why stop ?"
The elf’s answer ca imdiately.
"That curiosity you possess is dangerous. You are a foolish young man searching for sothing."
His gaze sharpened.
"What exactly is your goal, Cassien Artfold?"
Cassien felt as though soone was looking directly through him.
’So this is what the King of the Elves is like... quite an intriguing race.’
He kept his expression calm.
’But I can’t expose myself.’
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